"What is the reason for your return?"
The young man's tone was sharp as he pulled a wide obsidian cleaver from one of the open boxes behind him. He wielded it skillfully, then said in a threatening low voice :
"talk before I cut off your limbs."
Sol ignored the angry young man's threat and placed his hand on the spot on his neck where the syringe had been. There was no wound, no scar—it had regenerated quickly.
"I can understand him now... You said there was something strange inside it. Is that what you meant?"
[Maybe... I don't know. I just felt it emitting some weird frequencies.]
"Frequencies? What frequencies?"
[I don't know. I just felt them coming from that thing.]
"You are really useless"
While Sol was speaking with the system's voice, the young man watched in confusion and bewilderment before he says :
'Hey! Moron, I asked you a question'
The young man's shouting finally drew Sol's attention. He looked at him with his gloomy, exhausted gaze—accentuated by the dark circles clearly visible under his eyes.
"Huh? What do you want?"
Sol's tone was empty and bleak, as if he were provoking the young man. But that wasn't the case—it was simply his way of speaking that surfaced sometimes. To complicate matters, it appeared before an angry young man who held importance in this tribe.
The young man raised his cleaver, pointing it at Sol, and said:
'Speak respectfully, asshole. What brings you back?'
Sol turned his full body toward the young man and said calmly:
"You're different from others."
The young man's expression shifted to one of astonishment before he said:
'What the fuck are you talking about?'
"The others knelt to me and brought me here with big smiles. You're pointing a weapon at me."
'You're the reason for that. You and your people.'
Sol heard the young man's words and raised an eyebrow slightly in confusion, then asked:
"My people? What people?"
The young man replied in the same tone:
'Sky Dwellers.'
Upon hearing this title, Sol's mind immediately recalled the space travel rumors he'd considered before. He remembered the figure in the portrait. Then he thought:
"It seems they really did succeed."
The young man waved the cleaver in his hand and assumed a fighting stance, saying in a hostile tone:
'Then answer me. What is the reason for your return?'
Sol thought about how to answer the young man's question, but stopped. He lowered the two daggers in his hands to show he didn't intend to attack, then said calmly:
"Listen... it's a bit complicated, but I'm not one of the Sky Dwellers."
[What? Aren't you human? And the Sky Dwellers are humans... Wait, don't tell me you're disowning your own people to save yourself? Scum.]
"It's complicated, but I'm really not one of them."
Sol's tone was empty, as if stating something ordinary.
The young man's expression changed. He said:
'Do you take me for a fool?'
"No... but I'm truly not a Sky Dweller."
Sol slowly turned toward the low table behind him. He noticed the two daggers embedded directly behind him in the tent fabric, as firmly as if they were stuck in a tree trunk.
He leaned forward slightly, placed the daggers on the table slowly, then straightened up, facing the young man with his hands behind his head, and said calmly:
"Look—I put them down. I don't want to fight."
[I don't think your idea is going to work.]
The system's voice was sarcastic, almost certain.
The young man stared sharply at Sol for a few seconds, studying him with his azure eyes, then lowered the cleaver and asked in a less hostile tone:
'If you're not a Sky Dweller, why do you look so much like them?'
"Well... like I said, it's a bit complicated."
'Complicated? Your head must be damaged to say something like that about yourself.'
The young man looked confused. The system's voice said sarcastically:
[I agree with him.]
Sol frowned slightly, lowered his hands, and walked casually toward the raised fur bed, sitting down on it.
'I didn't say you could sit,' the young man said dryly.
"You wouldn't have said it anyway."
The young man was taken aback, then said with a hint of sarcasm:
'Even if I didn't tell you, you'd sit without permission..." He sighed and added, "Your head really is damaged.'
He put the cleaver aside and sat on one of the boxes, his gaze fixed on Sol, then asked:
'If you're not a Sky Dweller, where did you come from?'
Sol replied coldly:
"From the sky."
The young man frowned, his hand moving toward the cleaver, his eyes locked on Sol.
"Wait—let me finish. I'm half Sky Dweller and half..." Sol paused, thinking for a moment, then finished: "Well, half Sky Dweller and half something else."
The young man's hand stopped. He said:
'Half Sky Dweller and half something else? You're really wierd.'
[Yes, you're really wierd .]
The system's voice echoed the young man's words in an irritating manner.
"I know that. Anyway, what is this thing you injected me with?"
Sol gestured toward the white box with screens containing the strange syringes.
The young man looked at the box, then said in shock:
'Wait, you don't know what this is?!'
Sol replied without emotion:
"No, I don't."
'Maybe you really aren't a Sky Dweller.'
The young man's expression still showed shock.
"I told you I'm not one of them. So what is it?"
The young man shrugged and said casually:
'I don't know either.'
Sol was taken aback, then said:
"You injected me with something you don't know what it is?"
The young man leaned back against one of the tent's corners comfortably and said:
'Our ancestors got it from the Sky Dwellers a long time ago, when they first saved my tribe... According to what I heard from my grandfather, it allows us to communicate with the Sky Dwellers.' He paused briefly, then said:'Hey! You really aren't one of them—you didn't understand me before I used it on you.'
"Aren't you a little disappointed?"
Sol said gloomily.
'Why?'
The young man asked
"Because you used something precious on someone who isn't a Sky Dweller."
The young man was silent, his gaze dropping. He looked back at Sol and said:
'For you, it's a waste of something precious. But for my family, it was important—something that had to be done.'
Sol's gloomy, tired expression didn't change, and he said nothing. But he was a little Confused by what the young man had said.
'For the tribe, my family is the only one that can understand the Sky Dwellers' language. That's why we're the only ones allowed to lead the tribe. Truth is, without these strange tools, our ancestors wouldn't have been able to understand the Sky Dwellers.'
When the young man fell silent, Sol spoke:
"And if they find out you can't communicate with me, there will be trouble in the tribe."
'Right. So it wasn't a waste—it worked perfectly.'
The young man had a slight smile on his face.
"Since it's a secret, why tell me about it? I could tell one of the elders in the tribe. Maybe that old man who confronted you earlier—he seems to have status."
[Wait, are you serious?]
The young man was surprised by Sol's question. He paused for a moment, then said:
'They wouldn't understand your language. This strange tool lets you understand speech, not speak it. Besides, I have the box's key.'
"You are clever ."
Sol said with a hint of surprise in his tone.
'Don't forget—I didn't fight you seriously. Consider it my way of building a friendship between us.'
The young man gave a slight, sideways smile.
[That's a strange way to make friends.]
"Yeah, I wasn't fighting seriously either."
Sol's tone carried a hint of pride and confidence, a smug smile on his face. He pulled two daggers from the wide sleeves of his white coat and placed them before the young man.
The young man was surprised. He looked at the two daggers—the ones he'd thrown—which he hadn't found. He looked at Sol with a smile.
'You're really good.'
[Oh... you're so sneaky.]
'Tell me—why did you come to the tribe?'
The young man asked, setting his cleaver aside. Sol was about to reply when—
[To get a reward for saving one of your girls. I'm sure that'll be your answer.]
The system's voice was sarcastic, imitating Sol's gloomy, unpleasant way of speaking.
"I was bringing Azure here. She was attacked by a strange creature."
[Noble. Very noble. But that's a lie. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have done it.]
The young man raised his eyebrows in surprise.
'Azure?'
Sol realized no one else knew that name. He said:
"The girl who was beside me earlier."
The young man was silent for a moment, his expression shifting from surprise to slight sadness.
'yeah, I know her. She's my niece. Is she okay?'
"She is fine, it's just superficial wounds "
[Great—she's related to the tribe leader. Imagine the reward they'll give you...] The system paused, then said: [Wait a second... They're already treating you well.]
"I was calling her that because I don't know her name. Can you tell me what it is?"
[You didn't choose that name. I was the one who told you to give her one.]
'She doesn't have a name. She was stripped of it.'
Sol heard this but showed no reaction.
"Why was she stripped of her name?"
The young man looked discouraged before answering:
'It's a bit complicated." He paused, then said in a different tone: "What was the name you were calling her?'
Sol didn't press further—he knew some things couldn't be discussed. He simply answered the young man's question.
"Azure. Why?"
'Azure seems like a beautiful name.'
[What, are you kidding? That's a beautiful name?]
Sol gave a very small smile.
[Don't you dare—he doesn't even know what the name means.]
'You can call her that. Don't worry about what the tribe calls her—none of them speak to her anyway.'
The young man spoke, and it was very clear he was trying to suppress the sadness in his eyes.
'By the way, what's your name?'
The young man's tone had shifted, and the sadness disappeared from his features.
"My name?.. It's Solivar. But you can call me Sol."
[Sol, Sol, Sol... I don't know why, but it feels like a girl's name.]
'Hmm... it's a weird name. But it seems strong.'
[What—a strong name? Sol is a strong name?]
'My name is—'
Before the young man could finish, a voice came from outside—a rough voice. It was the old man Sol had assumed was the village chief.
"Arisu, the women have prepared the feast. Bring His Excellency and come out now."
The young man looked at him with A slight smile .
"Haha... I guess there's no need for me to say my name... So why are we going out now?"